Needle cylinder for circular-knitting machines



Patented May 13, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. KAPPES, 0F MILW'AUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD-TRUMP BROS. MACHINE COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAJVARE, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE NEEDLE CYLINDER FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES Application led June 7, 1929.

My invention relates to knitting machines whose needle cylinders carry independent needles and which are provided with means for selectively moving inward the thread receiving ends of selected needles. Machines equipped with such deflectable needles are used in the knitting of plated figured hosiery, certain needles being deflected to effect reverse plating. Such deflectable needles may also be used, in the production of figured fabric, to cause selected needles to engage or miss a yarn.

In such machines, pattern mechanism is used to selectively deflect predetermined needles in predetermined courses in order to knit a fabric having predetermined figures or designs other than a mere stripe. Topermit a needle to be deflected inward, the upper part of the needle groove is made of greater than normal depth and the upper part of the needle is unsupported in a radial direction, being spaced from the upright base of the groove. Flying particles of lint, dust, dirt, etc., lodge in the groove back of the upper part of the needle. The frequent lateral and vertical manipulations of the needle tends to dislodge these particles and prevent any accumulation to an extent which seriously obstructs deflection of the needles. In the case, however, of

,J those needles which are not deflected, there is nothing to prevent a substantial accumulation of such particles. 4This, too, does not affect the operation so long as the machine continues knitting a given pattern; but when the pattern is changed, and when, in the knitting of the second pattern, needles that were not deflected during the knitting of the first pattern are deflected by the pattern mechanism, the particles that have settled in the space between the needle and the base of the groove are often sufficient in quantity to prevent the deflection which is dictated by the pattern mechanism, causing failure of operation, breakage of the needle and vother troubles. Consequently, before changing the pattern mechanism to produce different designs, it is necessary to clean out the upper or deeper ends of all the needle grooves, which involves considerable time, labor and expense.

The object of the invention is to provide a Serial No. 369,045.

self cleaning needle cylinder. More specifically the object is to so construct the needle cylinder that all particles that enter the groove can and will readily escape therefrom,

the escape being facilitated by the up and y of uniform depth throughout that part thereof intended to accommodate all except the upper part of the needle; that is, the base of the groove, except its upper part, is a uniform distance from the center of the needle cylinder, forming a smooth vertical seat against which the inner edge of the needle rests and slides. The upper part of the groove is of greater t-han normal depth; that is, its base is closer to the center of the cylinder than the base of the major part of the groove. Thereby there is formed a shoulder, rela tively near to, but substantially below, the upper end of the groove, and the outer edge c of this shoulder acts as a fulcrum when the upper end of the needle is pushed in by its actuating presser. It is preferred that above the part of the groove of normal depth the groove shall deepen gradually, rather than abrupt-ly, by slanting the base of the groove inwardly and obliquely for a greater or smaller distance and then extending the base of the groove vertically upward to its open upper end, as shown in the drawing; but this is one of the details thatis susceptible of variation.

From a point approximately in vertical alinement with the upper ends of the said obliquely extending parts of the needle groove bases to a point more or less below the upper ends of the grooves, the cylinder is provided with an inner circumferential groove Z that extends in to, or beyond, the bases ot the vcrtical needle grooves, thereby adording free communication between the spaces back of the npp r ends of the needles and the interior oi' the cylinder. The upper end of the cylinder is thus connected with the main body oit the cylinder below it by a ring e whose thickness is about equal to or somewhat less than the depth of the upper portions of the needle grooves, this ring being pierced with through radial slots f that constitute mediate portions of the upper parts of the needle grooves.

The inner wall of the cylinder below the groove al is cut away to form a lower groove g with a circumferential sloping or bevelled wall. The grooves Z and constitute virtually one groove whose upper portion is ot' uniform depth and whose lower portion is of gradually diminishing depth toward the bottom. By bevelling the wall of the groove downward and inward, a ready path is aliiorded for the escape of particles from the needle grooves into and down through the space enclosed by the cylinder body.

Vhile the shape of the vertical needle grooves and the shape and location of the circumferential groove of the needle cylinder body have been described with some particularity, these shapes are susceptible of quite substantial inodilication, the only positive requirement being that the construction shall be such that any particles that fly into the needle groove behind the needles shall have free egress into the open interior of the needle cylinder. The only essential requirements, therefore, are that the needle grooves shall, throughout a part ot' their length, be true slots, that is, shall be open atthe inside or back, as well as at the outside or front, so that there shall be no closed pockets which allow accumulation of dust, dirt, lint, etc., to an eX- teut which will interfere with the intended and required deflection of needles and that the groove al, y. shall extend below the slots f and be provided with a sloping or bevelled 'all to facilitate the escape of particles downyardly as well as inwardly.

lt is quite feasible to position the groove d at a substantially lower level and thereby avoid the production ot closed wedge-shaped ilioclets between the backs of the needles above the point c. It has been found, how.- cver, that the normal upward movements of the needles operate to carry up particles that would otherwise settle in these pockets and discharge them through the slots f.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A needle cylinder provided with vertically extending needle receiving grooves in which needles are slidable, with shoulders above which the needles are adapted to extend so 

